At that period, brethren, there will arise in the world an Exalted. One
named Metteyya, Arahat, Fully Awakened, abounding in wisdom and goodness, happy,
with knowledge of the worlds, unsurpassed as a guide to mortals willing to be
led, a teacher for gods and men, an Exalted One,a Buddha, even as I am
now...

...He, by himself, will thoroughly know and see, as it
were face to face, this universe, with Its worlds of the spirits, Its Brahmas
and Its Maras, and Its world of recluses and Brahmins, of princes and peoples,
even as I now, by myself, thoroughly know and see them. -Digha Nikaya 1

The truth [the Norm, the Dhamma], lovely in
origin, lovely in Its progress, lovely in Its consummation, will he
(Metteyya Buddha) proclaim, both in the spirit and in letter, the higher
life will he make known, in all Its fullness and in all Its purity, even as
I do know. He will be accompanied by a congregation of some thousands of
Brethren, even as I an now accompanied by a congregation of some hundreds of
Brethren.

---Digha Nikaya 2

This prophecy of Gautama Buddha clearly predicts that the teaching of
Mettayya Buddha will be a worldwide teaching.

Baha'u'llah, the founder of Baha'i Faith, does not just fulfill the Buddhist
prophecies. He is also Promised One of Jews "the expected Messiah", for
Christians and Muslims the awaited return of Christ, for the Zoroastrians
(Parsees) the Saoshyant, for the Hindus the Kalki Avatar, as well as being for
Buddhists the Metteyya Buddha.

The prophecy of the Lord Buddha that the teaching of Metteyya Buddha will be
much more extensive than his own is already being fulfilled through the Baha'i
Faith, already a worldwide religion with communities in every part of the planet
consisting of all the races and nations of humanity.

So what is this ' teaching that is lovely' predicted by Gautama Buddha and
which Baha'is believe Baha'u'll'ah has brought? It is the renewed spiritual
guidance and the new social teachings given by Baha'u'll'ah.

TIME PROPHECIESBut
there is another prophecy that is much more specific about the time of the
coming of the Metteyya Buddha. Sariputta asked the Buddha:

'The Hero that shall follow you?As Buddha of what sort is
he?The account in full I fain would learn.Declare to me thou seeing
one'Gautama Buddha replied:

' I will tell you, SariputtaPray lend your ears, for I will
speak.In this auspicious aeon' Three leaders have already
livedKakusandha, KonagamanaAnd also the leader Kassapa.

'The Buddha Supreme, now am IBut after me Mettayya comes,Before
this auspicious aeonRuns to the end of years.

"This Buddha, then, Mettayya by nameSupreme, and of all men the
chief...'

Sariputta: 'How will it occur?'

Buddha replied:

'After my decease, first will occur the five
disappearences. And what are the five disappearances?' The disappearance of
attainments [to nibbana], the disappearance of the method [inability to
practice wisdom, insight and the four purities of moral habit], the
disappearance of learning [loss of men who follow the Dhamma and the
forgetting of the Pitakas and other scriptures], the disappearance of the
symbols [the loss of the outward forms, the robes and practices of monkhood],
the disappearance of the relics [the Dhatu]...

"Then when the Dispensation of the perfect Buddha is 5000 years old, the relics, not
receiving reverence and honor will go to places where they can receive
them... This, Sariputta, is called the disappearance of
relics'.

This passage clearly shows that the Metteyya Buddha will appear 'before this
auspicious aeon runs to the end of years'. Since Gautama Buddha appeared in
India and was speaking to disciples who had also been Hindus and were familiar
with the Hindu system of dating cycles.

It would seem likely that when Gautama Buddha said 'before this auspicious
aeon runs to the end of years', he was speaking of the Hindu Kali Yuga in
the middle of which he had appeared.

This Kali Yuga ended at noon on 1 August 1943, equivalent to the year 2486 of
the Buddhist Era. Therefore according to this prophecy of the Buddha, the
Metteyya Buddha should already have appeared sometime before 1943.

It is true that this prophecy of the Five Disappearances states that the last
of the Disappearances will occur when the Dispensation of the Buddha is five
thousand years old. Since only 2,500 years have passed, It might seem that it is
not yet time for the coming of Metteyya Buddha.

It should however, be borne in mind that when the Buddha allowed woman to be
ordained as nuns, he then prophesied that because of this time that the Dhamma
endured would be halved. The period during which the full Dhamma is known
and Nibbana achieved (the First Disappearance) is halved from one thousand years
to five hundred and similarly for the whole process.

Thus resulting in 2,500 years during which all of the Five Disappearances
must occur. The year 2500 of the Buddhist Era was celebrated in AD 1956. This
ties in very well with AD 1943 as the last possible date for the appearance of
the Metteyya Buddha. Baha'is believe that Baha'u'llah, who appeared in the
century before the expiration of this deadline, was the Metteyya Buddha.

The Five Disappearances refer to the gradual disappearance of the Dhamma from
the world. This is something which the Buddha knew would happen since everything
in this world is transient and changes.

He describes the gradual fading of the efficacy of his teachings until even
the 'true sacred relics (Dh'atu), not receiving reverence and honor, will go to
places where they can receive them. If we consider the situation in the Buddhist
world at the time of the advent of Baha'u'll'ah in the middle of the nineteenth
century, we will note that all of this prophecy had been fulfilled by that time.

Buddhism had disappeared from native soil in India, the sacred relics
had gone from India ' to places where they can receive reverence and honor in
Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and elsewhere in the Buddhist world. The scripture
and the Dhamma could even be said to have disappeared from the Buddhist
community, when Colonel Olcott arrived in Sri Lanka in the last half of the
nineteenth century, he could find no monks who knew Pali and could read the
scriptures.

There has, of course been a revival in Buddhism since those days but this is
only to be expected. For with the appearance of a new
Buddha, Baha'u'llah, in this world, the light is once more shining, and
the sun, when It shines, shines on all things, whether or not they are turned to
it.

Even today in Buddhist countries, however, It is difficult to apply the laws
of the Sangha as given in the Buddhist scriptures. Monks, for example, rarely
now join the Sangha for life: many are forced to carry money with them, some are
involved in politics, and so forth.

Gautama Buddha described the degraded state of the world at the time of the
coming of Metteyya, these conditions have been fulfilled today.

Thus, brethren, from goods not being bestowed on the destitute, poverty grew
great ..stealing... violence... murder...lying...evil
speaking...adultery...abusive and idle talk...covetousness and ill-will...false
opinions... incest, wanton greed and perverted lust...till finally lack of
filial and religious piety and lack of regard for the head of the clan grew
great. From these things growing, the life-span of those beings and the
comliness of them wasted.

Among such humans, the ten moral courses on conduct will disappear, the ten
immoral courses of action will flourish excessively, there will be no word for
moral among such humans - far less any moral agent. Among such humans, brethren,
they who lack filial and religious piety, and show no respect for the head clan
- It is they whom homage and praise will be given to the filial-minded, to the
pious and to them who respect the heads of their clans...

The world will fall into promiscuity, like goats and sheep, fowls and swine,
dogs and jackals. Among such humans, brethren, keen mutual enmity will become
the rule, keen ill-will, keen animosity, passionate thoughts even of killing, in
a mother towards her child. In a child towards mother, in a father towards
his child and a child towards his father, in brother to brother, in brother to
sister, in sister to brother...

As indicated in this prophecy, the Dhamma will have disappeared from the
world by this time. Gautama Buddha states that the true Dhamma will not
disappear from the world until a false Dhamma appears to replace it.

There is no disappearing of the true Dhamma until a counterfeit Dhamma arises
in the world. Once a counterfeit Dhamma arises then there is a disappearing of
the true Dhamma. It is when, here in the order itself, hollow and foolish
persons arise that they make this true Dhamma disappear. Baha'u'llah has
confirmed that this false, counterfeit Dhamma is present in the world and is
replacing the true Dhamma. In the Baha'i writings it is stated that the true
Dhamma has been replaced by a desire for material things:

Today, all the peoples of the world are indulging in self-interest and exert
the utmost effort and endeavor to promote their own material interests. They are
worshiping themselves and not the divine reality. They seek diligently their own
benefit and not the common weal. This is because they are captives of the world
of nature and unaware of the divine teachings, of the bounty, of the
kingdom and of the Sun of Truth.

These prophecies appear to describe accurately the present condition of the
world with materialism, consumerism, promiscuity, drug problems and
increasing violence and conflict. These problems are ravaging every society and
undermining the pillars of all social structures.

The way in which this situation can be remedied is, as the prophecy
indicates, for a new Buddha to arise. Only a new Buddha can restore the Dhamma
and replace the counterfeit Dhamma of materialism and selfishness. Only a new
Buddha can give the new teachings to solve the social problems of the world.
Only a new Buddha can solve the problems caused by the modern world by giving
new laws.

Baha'is believe that Baha'u'llah is the Metteyya Buddha
prophesied by Lord Buddha.

Baha'is recognize Baha'u'llah "as the Judge, the Lawgiver and Redeemer of all
mankind, as the Organizer of the entire planet, as the Unifier of the children
of men, as the Inaugurator of the long-awaited millennium, as the Originator of
a new "Universal Cycle," as the Establisher of the Most Great Peace, as the
Fountain of the Most Great Justice, as the Proclaimer of the coming of age of
the entire human race, as the Creator of a new World Order, and as the Inspirer
and Founder of a world civilization.

To Israel He was neither more nor less than the incarnation of the
"Everlasting Father," the "Lord of Hosts" come down "with ten thousands of
saints"; to Christendom Christ returned "in the glory of the Father," to Shi'ah
Islam the return of the Imam Husayn; to Sunni Islam the descent of the "Spirit
of God" (Jesus Christ); to the Zoroastrians the promised Shah-Bahram; to the
Hindus the reincarnation of Krishna; to the Buddhists the fifth
Buddha...

He alone is meant by the prophecy attributed to Gautama Buddha Himself,
that "a Buddha named Maitreye, the Buddha of universal fellowship" should, in
the fullness of time, arise and reveal "His boundless glory"...

Baha'u'llah wrote:

"Verily I say, this is the day in which mankind can
behold the Face and hear the Voice of the Promised One. The call of God hath
been raised, and the light of His countenance hath been lifted up upon men. It
behooveth every man to blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet
of his heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on the signs of His Revelation, the proofs of His Mission, and the tokens of His
Glory."-Baha'u'llah, Baha'i World Faith
p.9-11

Joel Smith is a member of the Baha'i Faith living in the United States. Much of the material on this
homepage consists of extracts from existing Baha'i publications, but also
included are a number of insights and comments about prophecies which are
entirely the author's own understanding and, as such, do not necessarily
represent the official position of the Baha'i Faith or its teachings.